Aerobic Exercise May Boost Cognitive Fitness for 55+
| THE NETHERLANDS - Around age 50, even healthy older adults begin to experience mild declines in cognition, such as occasional memory lapses and reduced ability to pay attention.
Researchers in The Netherlands reviewed 11 randomized controlled trials that examined the effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive processing speed, memory and attention. |
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The results suggest that exercises that improve cardiovascular fitness also help boost cognitive processing speed, motor function and visual and auditory attention in healthy older people.
In the studies, a total of 670 adults ages 55 and older exercised aerobically between two and seven days a week for three months and underwent fitness and cognitive function tests. Not surprisingly, eight of the 11 included studies found that participation in aerobic exercise programs increased participants’ VO2 max by 14 percent.
Improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness coincided with improvements in cognitive function especially motor function, cognitive speed and auditory and visual attention when participants were compared to a group of non-exercising adults or adults in a yoga- or strength-based program.
“Improvements in cognition as a result of improvements in cardiovascular fitness are being explained by improvements in cerebral blood flow, leading to increased brain metabolism which, in turn, stimulates the production of neurotransmitters and formation of new synapses,” says lead review author Maaike Angevaren.
Researchers could not confirm that aerobic activity specifically is necessary for cognitive improvement. When researchers left non-exercisers out of the equation and examined test scores of adults who did any type of exercise (including aerobic activity, strength training or flexibility programs) they found no significant differences for nine of the 11 cognitive functions measured.
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